U.S. Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) is a stalwart defender of Life in the U.S. House of Representatives. On Wednesday, Rep. Frank minced no words when he spoke about the atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood in his opening statements during the congressional hearing entitled, “Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices.”

Rep. Franks enumerated abuses by Planned Parenthood as documented by undercover footage obtained by the Center for Medical Progress. He drew parallels between the practices of convicted Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell and Planned Parenthood, noting that the same callous attitude towards Life existed in Gosnell’s harrowing “House of Horrors” as exists in every Planned Parenthood across the country.

Rep. Franks condemned the silence of President Obama and many members of Congress – especially in the U.S. Senate where the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act has been held captive after successful passage through the House – saying, “The President of the United States and members of Congress have not uttered one single syllable against these gut-wrenching atrocities of Kermit Gosnell or Planned Parenthood. For God’s sake, is this who we truly are?”

Franks noted that thousands of babies die every year in excruciating dismemberment abortions without anesthesia, screaming in an agony that is only silent because amniotic fluid washes over their vocal cords instead of air. He asked, “what is so liberating” about the perceived right to commit this atrocity against preborn children, calling the acceptance of abortion “the worst human rights atrocity in the history of the United States of America.”

Rep. Franks went on to implore, “I beg you to open your own hearts and ask yourselves, what is so liberating about brutally and painfully dismembering living, helpless, little human babies.” Watch his powerful words below.